Rebecca Woolson

About Rebecca Woolson

I’m a steady, trusted People & Culture leader who helps startups and growing organizations build HR foundations that actually work. Over the past 15 years I’ve scaled teams, guided executives and senior management through rapid change, and rebuilt culture and trust through multiple leadership transitions.My approach is pragmatic and people-first—grounded in coaching principles, compliance, and analytics. I focus on designing lean, technology-enabled systems that keep companies compliant without slowing them down.Highlights include transitioning a biotech startup from a PEO to a fully in-house HR model (saving more than $250K annually), negotiating benefit changes that reduced costs by 35 % while keeping employee premiums flat, and leading a company-wide cultural realignment that restored trust and collaboration.

Experience

1. Director of People Operations

   On Demand Pharmaceuticals Inc

   Oct 2020 — Present · Rockville, MD, US

   Built the company’s People function from the ground up and served as a stabilizing partner through three CEO transitions.Scaled workforce 20 → 120 within 18 months; shifted ~70 % of hiring in-house, saving ≈ $250–300K annually.Transitioned from a PEO to in-house HR, reducing fringe rate 21 → 19 % and saving ≈ $250–300K per year without adding headcount.Negotiated 2024 benefit changes delivering 35 %(≈ $220K) savings and keeping employee premiums flat through 2025.Partnered with executives on org design and compensation architecture that strengthened cohesion and retention.Led company-wide cultural realignment and values implementation that rebuilt trust and cross-functional collaboration.Leveraged automation and AI tools to scale HR operations without additional staff.

Education

• The George Washington University

  Master of Education & Human Development, Organizational Leadership and Learning

  2018 — 2019

• University of Virginia

  Bachelor of Arts, Foreign Affairs

  2004 — 2008

Skills

• Defense
• Dod
• National Security
• Homeland Security
• Leadership
• Government
• Training
• Intelligence
• Physical Security
• Organizational Leadership
• Military Experience
• Intelligence Analysis
• Operations Management
• Military Operations
• Risk Assessment
• Security Clearance
• Program Management
• Army
• Information Assurance
• Command
• Operational Planning
• Government Contracting
• U.s. Department of Defense
• Military
• Security